


Secrets No More

by Heartless_Zombie



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Eddsworld - Freeform, Gen, Short Story, first time putting something on here, the neighbors are mentioned but they aren't actually there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:35:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23973865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartless_Zombie/pseuds/Heartless_Zombie
Summary: A little something I did on Tumblr that was inspired by a doodle I posted on my blog. Basically, Tom is losing control of his monster self, causing him to transform in his sleep and destroy the city, then wake up in the middle of nowhere. At the same time, Edd is secretly working as a superhero to find the monster destroying the city. Matt just wants to help his friends, but has no idea what to do because Edd and Tom are trying so hard to keep their secret...well, secret.
Kudos: 29





	1. Losing Grip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another morning for Tom.

Tom groaned as the morning light beat against his eyelids. His head was pounding, like something was trying to break through his skull. Every part of his body felt sore and bruised. He lazily reached for his blanket, but he couldn't find it anywhere. He slowly pried open his “eyes”, realizing the bed was unusually damp. Looking around, he was not in his bedroom. Instead, he was laying in the middle of a grassy field covered in mud and dew.

The field looked like it was in the middle of a war. Trees were ripped up from their roots and left in broken piles. Whole patches of grass were missing, all of which forming patterns that looked like claw marks. In front of him was the remains of a smashed gazebo. Much of the rubble looked like it had been scorched.

Tom was in about the same condition. His checker print pajamas were covered in reddish brown stains that he hoped was just mud. The arms and legs were ripped to shreds, and he could feel wind coming in through holes in the popped seams. Spiky hair laid over his face in a matted mess. He actually plucked a stick out from it.

Tom groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Not again.” He slowly pulled himself up, and stumbled drowsily toward the road.

He was in a park, that much he could figure out. As for how he got there, that was a mystery. Unfortunately for him, waking up in strange places with no memory started to become a weekly occurrence. He had his theory for what was happening, but he didn’t really like what it meant, nor did he want to tell anyone and look like a crazy person. Instead, he pretended he was blacking out from drinking. Easier to explain, much more believable, and honestly not too far from the truth.

Up against the park pavilion was a little phone booth. He had no change on him, but luckily someone was kind enough to leave a quarter on the box. Dialing the number, he ran his story through his head, “Hey Edd,” he muttered sleepily once his friend picked up, “It’s Tom. It happened again. Think you can pick me up?”

Edd was silent on the other end for a few seconds before replying huffily, “Tom, I’m not supposed to be calling people while I’m at work. And I thought you said you were going to stop drinking.”

Tom rolled his “eyes”, “I never said that. You just suggested it.”

“I’m being serious here, you need to stop. I was fine when you were just sleeping around or being rude, but now you’re blacking out and ending up...well, Lord knows where. You’re going to get yourself hurt one of these days.” Edd nagged. His tone was enough to tell Tom he was doing the grumpy mom face he did everytime him or Matt did something stupid.

“Someone’s cranky today,” Tom joked, letting out a small yawn.

Edd took a deep breath before replying in a whisper, “Look, I didn’t mean to blow up, but this is getting out of hand. You know you can talk to me if something’s bothering you, right?”

“Geez, you sound like my mom,” Tom chuckled as he worked the phone cord around his finger. Edd made an annoyed grunt, “Alright, alright, I know, but nothing’s wrong. Honest.”

Edd paused, whispering after a few seconds of silence, “Well, alright, but you need to let me or Matt know. You’re out friend, we want to help...I’ll see if I can get Matt to pick you up. Where are you at again?”

“I’m at the park. The big one with the pond in the middle.” Tom yawned.

“Okay, don’t go anywhere. See ya,” Edd ordered, hanging up the phone soon after.

Hanging the phone back onto the hook, Tom sat under the pavilion and waited around. In the meantime he tried to force himself to remember what happened that night. The best he could get was up to going to bed, and then everything went fuzzy from there. Even without that, he figured it was his transformations again. When exactly it started was a bit foggy for him, but whenever his emotions got too intense, he would stop being Tom and turn into...well, he didn’t exactly know what to call it. All he knew was that it was big, angry, and hard to control once it was out. Before, it was easy enough to keep hold of. Just drown all emotions in alcohol, and he was fine. But after the radioactive TV dish incident, the alcohol wasn’t doing it’s job anymore. He could be drunk off his rocker and still turn into that thing. And now he was transforming while he was asleep, which meant no good for him or anyone within a 15 foot radius.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Matt’s pop music. Looking up, he saw Edd’s car round the corner, all windows down and blaring Lady Gaga. Matt had on a stupid smile on his face.

He pulled up to the pavilion and stuck his head out the window, “Wild night?!” He shouted over the music.

“You have no idea!” Tom yelled back, rounding the car to get in on his side. The seatbelt was broken beyond repair, so he just left it laying across his lap.

“What happened to you?! You look like you got mauled!” Matt inquired, reaching over to inspect one of the ruined sleeves.

Tom tugged it away and stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Considering where I woke up, it’s possible!”

“Huh…must be doing construction or something!” Matt peeked out the window to look at the damage. He shrugged, not being that concerned about it, and went on with his train of thought, “Edd’s pretty pissed y’know!”

“Yeah, he went mother hen on me over the phone!” Tom sighed, adjusting himself to look out the window. “Could you turn down the radio a bit?!”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that.” Matt chuckled, turning down the music as fast as he could. For someone with no license he was doing pretty good pulling back out except coming dangerously close to a tree. “Here, brought some coffee. Helps with the hangover.” He handed Matt a travel mug from the cup holder.

“Thanks.” Tom took a sip, expecting Matt’s typical sugar overload that he would do every time he made coffee. Instead, he got the taste of tap water along with what felt like sand. He lifted up the lid and sighed, “Matt...this is just water with coffee grinds in it.”

“Yeah I broke the coffee maker. If Edd asks, it was the neighbors.” Matt chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

The two eventually made it home, surprisingly without a single ticket considering how much Matt was swerving around on the road. Tom immediately locked himself off in the bathroom, ready to shower off the filth and forget the whole thing. He hopped in and let the hot water pour over him. Taking deep breaths, he tried doing meditation like Edd suggested him to do once. For a brief second, he felt at peace, forgetting the world and the fact that he was losing control over his inner monster.

Matt suddenly pounded on the bathroom door. Tom jumped, snapping out of his brief moment of meditation. He knocked over the bottles on the ledge. Bending over to pick them up, he cursed under his breath, and accidentally sent more bottles falling over.

“Hey Tom, I made pancakes for when you’re done!” Matt shouted through the door, “Oh, and I left a clean towel at the door!” Footsteps went back down the hall before Tom could reply.

Tom shook his head with a sigh. Hard to be moody when you got your friend making pancakes for you.


	2. Excuses and False Identities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tom just barely gets away before he transformed, and Edd sneaks out to do some investigating.

Tom and Matt vegged out for most of the day, watching cheesy shows on the couch and using commercials to hurry up and do chores for Edd. Ringo curled up on Tom’s lap, purring happily as Tom stroked the cat’s head.

“So, is there something going on with you?” Matt asked out of nowhere. He had his head tilted like a confused dog, bangs falling awkwardly in his face.

“Um...no? Why?” Tom lied. If it were anything else he would have dropped a hint, but this wasn’t something you could just dump on a friend and walk away from. Especially since Matt and his big fat mouth would blab to the whole town about it.

“Well, you’ve been acting really weird anymore, especially after dark.” Matt explained, fumbling with his hands as he spoke, “You leave in the middle of the night all the time. I tried asking what you were doing and you growled at me,” He held up his hands like claws, “Like an actual animal growl.”

Tom’s heart sank. He didn’t remember doing any of that stuff, but if Matt was telling the truth, he saw Tom at least mid transformation, “I- uh… I don’t remember doing that.”

“That’s not all. There’s this weird purple light that follows you around. I don’t know what it is, but almost looks like that uh,” Matt wiggled his fingers, “That squiggly thing fire light does.”

“That’s crazy.” Tom dismissed, trying to hold a straight face.

“Hang on, I bet I know what this is,” Matt interrupted him, rubbing his chin like the detectives he seen on TV, “Growling, lights, and leaving at night can only mean one thing,” He dramatically pointed at Tom, “You’ve been going to midnight furry conventions, haven’t you?”

Tom sat there in complete silence for a few seconds. His brain stalled on what Matt just said, and once it finally went through, he tried to fight back his smile, “Pfft! What made you think that?”

“Elementary, my dear Tom.” Matt replied, throwing on a full Sherlock persona. He got up and paced about the room as he explained his deduction, “Clearly you would be embarrassed of being a furry, so you only go late at night. The growling is you practicing for acting like an animal. The glowing is some kind of fancy rave light that you’re bringing to the convention.” Matt jabbed Tom’s chest with one finger. His face had a cocky smile that told Tom that Matt was being 100% serious, “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Tom forced down a laugh. His whole face was bright red and a huge grin went from ear to ear, “Oh yeah, you caught me,” He answered sarcastically, “Snnrk- You figured out my secret.” The dam finally broke, letting out a wave of laughter from Tom.

Edd happened to walk in just in time to watch Tom bust his gut, “What did I miss?”

Matt proudly pointed at Tom and announced, “I figured out why he’s been acting so weird. He’s a furry!”

Tom tried to stifle his laughter, tears pooling in the corners of his “eyes”.

“Glad you finally came out about it,” Edd joked, stopping to pet Ringo before stepping past him to drop off some bags in the kitchen, “Anyways, I got some stuff for tonight. I was thinking pizza and crisps.”

“Sounds good to me!” Matt replied, grabbing up the TV remote, I’ll try and find something to watch. He flipped through the different channels, eventually stopping at the news, “Whoa, hey Edd, check this out!”

On the screen were policemen gathering around a huge scene. Taped off was a smashed gazebo, a large portion of the park, and a neighboring house that had been burned down. Tom immediately recognized it as the place where he woke up, but he didn’t remember the house.

“Whoa,” Edd gasped, leaning over the couch, “Looks like something big went through there.”

“Yeah, it burned down a house,” Matt nodded, suddenly turning to face Edd, “Ooh! What if it was a dragon?! How cool would that be?!” Edd shrugged, “Could be. Weirder stuff has happened before.”

The announcer came on screen and started giving updates, “It’s still unknown who or what caused the damage on the scene. Police plan to bring detectives to investigate later today.”

Edd looked over at Tom, immediately noticing his face had paled, “Tom, are you okay? You didn’t get sick, did you?”

“Huh? Oh, I’m fine.” Tom lied, tugging nervously on the neck of his hoodie, “I-I’m great. Never better.” He looked down and his heart skipped a beat. His fingernail had sharpened to a point, and started turning a deep shade of purple, “You know what, I’m actually not feeling that great. I’ll just go sleep it off.” He excused himself, hurriedly marching up the stairs to his room and locking the door shut behind him.

“...That was weird.” Matt commented before turning back to the TV screen, “ He seemed okay to me.” He changed the channel to Professor Why and patted the couch next to him for Edd to sit.

Edd sat down, but continued to stare at the steps, confused as to what the heck was going on with Tom.

The two of them watched TV until the sun started setting. The whole time, neither of them heard a peep from Tom. Matt didn’t seem to notice, but then again Matt had a hard time picking up on social cues, so to him all was normal. Edd on the other hand could just feel something was up. A motherly sixth sense if you will.

“I’m going to go check on Tom,” Edd said, getting up from the couch, “Can you go start dinner? Just follow the directions on the box.”

Matt gave him a playful salute before heading to the kitchen. Edd crept up the stairs. Immediately, he felt his brain kick into fight or flight mode. The unease lingered at the landing like a fog. The source being Tom’s door. Despite this, Edd came up to the bedroom door and gave it a light knock, “Hey Tom? You good buddy?”

Someone on the other side of the door gasped and fell silent. There was some thumping around within. Curiosity taking over, Edd pressed his ear against the wood. Heavy footsteps paced about the room methodically.

Finally, he heard Tom respond, “Y-Yeah, I’m good.” His voice sounded deeper and scratchier than before. Edd couldn’t help but wonder if he ate a bunch of gravel or something, “I think I got a cold though,” Tom added with a cough.

“Do you need anything?” Edd asked, fighting back the urge to peep in through the crack in the door. As much as he wanted to figure out what was going on, he had the overhanging sense of dread that he wasn’t going to like what he saw.

“N-No. I’m just going to go to bed early. Goodnight.” Tom replied, his voice snapping back to normal mid sentence.

Edd backed away, “Well, goodnight then.” He hurried up and went back down the stairs, almost running face first into the plate of pizza in Matt’s hands.

“Where’s the fire?” Matt joked, flopping back down on the couch, “I mean, besides the oven that is.”

Edd’s heart jumped, racing around the corner to check the kitchen. No sign of fire anywhere.

Matt laughed from the living room, “Got you!” he shook his head with a doofy smile, “Yeah, couldn’t find how to turn on the oven so I just microwaved a few slices.” As he stuffed his slightly cold pizza into his mouth he muttered, “Where’s Tom?”

Edd shrugged, grabbing his plate and promptly stuffing it back into the microwave, “Sick...I think.” He muttered the last part.

The rest of the night was uneventful. Edd cleaned up the counter and did some dishes, biding his time until Matt went to bed. He had everything he needed ready and at the door.

“Night Edd, I’m going to bed,” Matt yawned, shutting off the TV and stumbling up the stairs.

“Okay, goodnight,” Edd called back. He paused, waiting until the footsteps upstairs went silent. Quietly, he slipped on his old Coca Cola backpack and crept out the door, locking it up behind him. Stowing his keys in his pocket, he walked in the darkness, not letting his gaze wander from the sidewalk. He stopped at an alleyway. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he went in and dumped out the contents of his bookbag: a green mask from a superhero costume, some green basketball shorts, a green magician’s cape, black tights, green canvas shoes, yellow dish gloves, and an old gray shirt he painted a lighting bolt logo onto.

Struggling to change in the darkness, he shoved his old clothes back into his bag and hid it behind the dumpster, “Alright, big park was it?” He talked to himself, kicking off the ground and slowly rising up. He could see the police lights from where he hovered over the buildings, “That should be it.”

Luckily for Edd, not all his powers disappeared after the whole radioactive TV dish incident. Sure, he wasn’t as strong as before, but he still made for a decent superhero. For the sake of his friends however, he played it off as all his powers had disappeared. Matt had a big mouth and would blab about his secret identity to anyone who asked, meaning villains could easily find him. Tom wasn’t much of a problem as long as he wasn’t drunk, but 99% of the time he was. So, he kept his lives separate. By day he was Edd, and by night he was Poweredd.

"What seems to be the problem here officers?" Poweredd asked, touching down in just behind the roped off area.

The chief turned around and sighed with relief, "Oh good, it's you. We can use all the help we can get with this one." He lifted up the tape for Poweredd to walk under.

The scene was full of police and detectives milling about the rubble and wreckage. Red and blue lights amid the darkness gave off an eerie feeling to the area.

"What happened here?" Poweredd asked, walking up to a nearby tree that had been ripped up by the root. The wood was carved in by large gashes that almost resembled claw marks. Sap oozed from the center and dribbled down into the grass.

The police chief shrugged, "That's what we're trying to figure out. In all my years, I never seen anything like this."

Poweredd wandered about the scene, mentally taking note of every detail. Large claw marks everywhere, trees uprooted, park buildings smashed, and a whole home burned down. He mumbled to himself, "Maybe Matt was onto something with the dragon?" Suddenly, something caught his eye. A chunk of deep purple fur wedged underneath some rubble. Poweredd snatched it up and looked it over. The color seemed oddly familiar, but from where he couldn't tell. He mentally went through his memories, trying to find where he saw something dark purple. It was just on the tip of his tongue.

"Find something?" A detective asked, coming up to him.

Poweredd whipped around, sneakily stuffing the fur into his pocket, "Oh, uh nothing yet." He gave his best smile before going back to what he was doing. Purple fur. He had seen it before. But where?


	3. Trials and Tribulations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poor Matt is just trying to be a good friend but Tom and Edd are acting weird.

Edd slipped in the house just before 1:00 AM. All was quiet except for the sound of pittering paws against the floor. A purring ball of fluff rubbed itself against Edd's leg, green eyes gleaming in the dark.

"Hey Ringo," Edd whispered, patting the cat's head, "Can't play right now. I-" his sentence was cut off by his own yawn, "I need some sleep."

He crept up the stairs, casting a quick glance at Tom's door. It was opened just a crack, but he thought better of looking inside. Edd slipped into his own bedroom, hid his costume under the bed, and passed out before he could even cover himself up.

Not long after, Matt woke up, already energized and ready for the day, "Good morning beautiful," he flirted with himself in the mirror, "Aren't you the epitome of beaut- AHH!" He was cut off by Tom, who came in without him noticing somehow.

Tom was covered head to toe in twigs and mud. This was the second set of pajamas he destroyed. His old ASDFLand shirt had more holes than Swiss cheese, and his sleep pants were practically shorts.

"What happened to you?!" Matt shouted.

"...Long night," Tom muttered, rubbing his eyes, "Woke up in the backyard this time."

"You and your furry friends need to calm down with the partying. You look awful" Matt commented, grabbing a hairbrush off his desk to comb out the twigs from Tom’s hair.

Tom was too tired to tell Matt to get off, so he just stood still and let it happen, "Gee, thanks."

Matt chimed, "You know what, I need to make an update on my channel.” He gestured over at his desk. A webcam sat among several different bottles and tools that Tom was pretty sure were for torture despite Matt telling him they were for taking care of the skin, “How about I give you a makeover?"

"Polite pass." Tom grumbled, pausing to think for a minute before speaking up,"There's uh… there's actually something else I was wondering about. Do you know any ways to keep calm?"

Matt’s face lit up in excitement, "Oh, that's easy! You could do meditation, that's a good go to. If you're not into that you can use lavender incense or hemp oil. There's also something I do as a quick fix. Just try saying the alphabet backwards. You'll forget all about what's stressing you out because you're busy trying to say it."

Tom nodded, surprised that what Matt said sounded actually helpful for what he was trying to do, "What about staying awake?"

"Like fighting off drowsiness? Usually just drink some coffee and energy drinks-" Matt chirped before interrupting his own train of thought, "Wait, does this have something to do with what's been going on with you?"

"Sort of." Tom yawned, rubbing his “eyes”, "Thanks for the tips, Matt" He walked off with a small wave.

"Wait, at least tell me what you're doing!" Matt called him. He dropped off the hairbrush on his dresser and poked his head out of his room.

Tom shouted at him from the bottom of the stairs, "Nah!"

Matt just sighed with a shake of his head. He slipped out of his room and went downstairs. Ringo weaved under his legs, almost tripping Matt on the last few steps.

"Whoa, watch where you're going kitty," Matt chuckled, reaching down to cradle Ringo in his arms, "What? Did Edd not feed you this morning?"

Ringo mewled as if saying yes, reaching little paws up to bop Matt on the nose.

"Alright, let's go get you some food." Matt chuckled, tickling Ringo’s soft belly. He waltzed into the kitchen holding the cat like his baby and froze. He felt a breeze brush past his face. He looked over and noticed that the backdoor was hanging wide open and letting the chilly fall air in, "Oh Tom, you left the back door open."

Tom shook his head as he tried to figure out how to fix the coffee maker, "Nope."

"Wh- oh,” Matt rounded the counter and saw what he was talking about. The back door was technically still closed and locked, but someone busted in the glass to the point there was nothing but a pile of shards right in front of it. A single claw mark was scratched into the metal frame, “Huh...Edd's not going to like that."

Tom kept quiet as to how it broke, but he just shrugged and said, "Blame the neighbors?"

Matt nodded, "Blame the neighbors."

A few hours later, Edd sat at his desk, looking over the fur he found at the scene. It was short and covered in a sticky substance that made it stay together in a spike. As far as he could tell, it was some sort of hair gel.

Grabbing up his notepad, he took a quick sketch and made a list of what he found so far.

"Weirdest animal I ever seen," he muttered, doodling his best guess of what it was in the corner. It looked something like a spiky haired dog.

Just as he got done, he looked back at the fur and froze. The clump was changing color. Somehow it went from a deep, almost black shade of purple to a soft brown. "What in the-" Edd gasped, quickly grabbing his phone and recording the change, "That's so cool!"

Suddenly he heard footsteps coming toward his room. In a panic he shoved the fur into a desk drawer and flipped his notebook to an empty page. Matt poked his head in without knocking and smiled, "Oh hey, you're awake! For a second there I thought you were going to sleep all day," he paused, noticing the nervous expression on Edd's face, "Please don't tell me you're acting weird too."

Edd shook his head, "No, no, you just surprised me, that's all." He hopped up from his desk, grabbed his bag from under the bed, and headed for the door, "Look at the time, I should've been up by now. I need to go do some errands. Think you can hold down the fort while I'm gone?"

Matt nodded, "Yeah, should be easy enough. Tom and I were talking about relaxation stuff, so I think he's planning a spa day for us."

"At least it isn't vodka." Edd commented, "Alright, I'm heading out." He headed out the front door, grabbing the handles of his bag just to make sure it was still there.

He walked halfway to the police station, stopping in an alley to change and hide his normal clothes. Pocketing his phone, he flew over and stopped right at the door.

The police station was a small concrete building painted bright white. Small hedges lined the front, and around the side were all the squad cars. Poweredd stepped in, immediately greeted by a guard.

“Hello,” He greeted, “I’m here to talk to the police chief.”  
The guard looked him over and wordlessly unlocked the main doors leading into the lobby, “Talk to the secretary for an appointment.” The guard stated flatly, waiting to lock the doors behind him.

Poweredd made his appointment, then awkwardly sat around in the waiting room for a bit. Everyone stared at him because of his costume, so he just looked down at his feet and tried to ignore them. He was still a very obscure hero, so except for the select few people that knew him, he was just some weird grown man in a halloween costume.

“Well, well, well, bit early to see you,” The police chief soon arrived, sipping on a cup of coffee, “Come with me.”

The chief led Poweredd into his office, motioning for him to sit in the chair in front of his desk, “Donut?” He offered, holding out the mostly empty box for Poweredd.

Poweredd shook his head, commenting as the chief set the box aside, “Bit stereotypical for a cop to have donuts, don’t you think?”  
T

he chief chuckled, “If I had a dollar for every time I heard that. But aside from that, what made you poke your head out before dark?”

Poweredd pulled out his phone and loaded up the video from before, “I think I found something important from last night. Here, look at this,” He handed the chief the phone and continued explaining, “I found this on the scene. It’s fur from something, definitely not an ordinary animal though. It’s color changing. Probably why we didn’t find any evidence or even catch the thing. It’s changing itself to blend in.”

The chief put down the phone and stroked his chin, “Well, that does explain quite a few things. But while we’re here exchanging clues, I found a little something while cleaning through the older files.” He reached down into his desk drawer and pulled out a thin file folder, “Call it a hunch, but I don’t think this is the first time that thing showed up.”

Poweredd opened up the folder to find several clippings of newspapers along with a single photo from a traffic cam. Suddenly it clicked as to why he was getting deja vu. Each piece showed the same thing; a large, hulking beast with a single empty socket in its head, two purple horns, and the same short spiky purple fur that he found at the scene, “Wait, that can’t be possible. Edu- I mean Numero Uno defeated that thing.”

The police chief shrugged, “From what I gathered, it disappeared that night without a trace. That thing was probably hiding under our noses this whole time. Why now of all times for it to come back, I don’t know, but it isn’t going to stop until someone stops it.”

Poweredd nodded, tucking everything back into the folder before handing it back to the police chief, “So what should I do then?”

“Well obviously keep doing your normal work at night, but I think it may also be of benefit to go undercover. Investigate around during the day for any sort of suspicious behavior.” The chief scribbled down his phone number on a spare napkin and handed it to Poweredd, “Report back to me the minute you find anything.”

Poweredd nodded, “Thank you sir. I won’t let you down!”


	4. Long Awaited Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes to crap the minute Edd steps out the door.

Edd sat at his desk, head cradled in his hands and staring down at the mess of papers. As soon as the monster appeared, it disappeared again without a trace. It had been days since the police chief assigned him to the job, and he had nothing to show for it. All he had was old evidence and the word of a few witnesses. No matter what he did, all the information led him to a dead end.

“There’s got to be something missing.” He grumbled, chewing on the end of his pen. Ringo hopped up onto the desk with a purr. Her little tail swished from side to side, knocking papers down to the floor, “Dang it Ringo, these are important.” 

Ringo just mewled. As Edd reached down to clean the papers up, the cat used his back as a springboard and ran over to the door. She scratched at the door with her little paws.

“What?” Edd asked her, forgetting the papers to see what she wanted, “You want out?” He opened the door for her and jumped back in shock, “Gah! Tom what the heck?!”  
Tom was standing just in the doorway, leaning against the wall. The bags under his eyes were so dark he looked like a panda. His disheveled pajamas hung baggily over his body, and for some reason they carried a strong scent of lavender.

“Morning,” Tom groaned with a yawn, “...Sorry. Did I scare you?”

“Judging from the heart attack you gave me, yeah, you did,” Edd grumbled, straightening himself, “Better question, are you okay?”

Tom absentmindedly nodded, staring off at the corner rather than looking at Edd, “Yeah...yeah I’m good...just a bit tired.”

Edd folded his arms, “When was the last time you slept?”

Tom just made the “I don’t know” sound before rubbing his eyes, “Can’t sleep if I wanted to...Personal stuff.” 

“Riiiight. And what’s with the lavender?” Edd inquired, starting to consider forcing Tom into bed.

“Matt said it keeps you calm. I need to be calm and awake. That’s how I stopped myself from transf-” Before Tom could finish his sentence, he passed out for a split second, about falling over, “AH!” He jolted himself awake.

Edd took Tom firmly by the shoulder, “Look, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you need to sleep. You look awful.”

Tom shook his head before stumbling down the stairs. Soon after Edd heard loud banging all the way down the stairs, followed by a pained groan.

“All the grace of a vacuum cleaner,” Edd sighed, heading after Tom to make sure he was okay. Tom laid at the bottom of the stairs. The way he landed made him look like a marionette that just had its strings cut, “Tom, are you okay?”

Tom slowly pulled himself up, giving Edd a thumbs up before flopping onto the couch. Matt, who was sitting on the other side, flew up like he was on a trampoline.

“Okay, well, I’m going to work,” Edd said, slipping his book bag on over his shoulders, “Matt’s in charge. Matt, make sure Tom takes a nap or something.” He stepped out the door, but then poked his head back in, “Oh, and you two better not break anything else while I’m gone.” 

Matt and Tom nodded as Edd left, leaving them to their own devices.

“Welp, you heard Edd, it’s nap t-” Matt started to say, looking over at Tom to see he fell asleep again leaning against the arm of the couch, “Huh, looks like you beat me to the punch.” Hopping up, he lifted up Tom like a little kid, and carried him back to his room.

Tom’s room was as messy as ever. Sheet music, empty bottles, and dirty clothes carpeted the floor. Blue walls were filled with boards and posters that poorly hid holes that Tom swore he didn’t cause. Most of his furniture had a checker print pattern, including his bed. Matt laid Tom down, slipping Tomee Bear into his sleeping friend’s arms before covering him up and quietly creeping out of the room.

Left to his own devices, Matt went back downstairs and watched some Professor Why with Ringo. It was rare for him to be left on his own. Mostly because anything he touched would magically break or just get lost, only to be found again in the most bizarre of places. The last time Matt was on his own, the couch somehow got on the roof. 

“I’m in charge,” he repeated to himself with a big grin on his face. He kicked his legs up onto the coffee table and folded his arms above his head, “King of the house. Master of the home. Lord of the abode.” he listed off, gently stroking his own ego.

Meanwhile, Poweredd was soaring above the city, looking for anything remotely suspicious. With it being so early in the day, most people were just starting to come out. The daily crowds milled about the shops and sidewalks.

“Must be nice,” Poweredd grumbled, “They get to relax, and here I am on a wild goose chase.” He perched up on top of a building, looking down at the people below, “For all I know it skipped town.”

He sat there mulling it over. There had to be a clue he was missing. Something he skipped; a footprint, a hair, anything. Without that last little puzzle piece he was left with nothing. 

He pulled out his phone and tapped on the video the police chief sent him from the last time it appeared. In the very corner the date was marked in white letters. The video was all in bright greens like night vision since the chief ripped it from a traffic camera. He watched it over and over again for clues and never found anything. 

Slowing it down, he picked through frame by frame, trying to pick out any tiny detail he missed. At first, everything was the same, but then he noticed something. The monster was only attacking things when it had the strange light in its eye. Anytime the light stopped, it stopped. These moments only lasted a few seconds, so it was no wonder why he didn’t pick that up.

“It’s being controlled?” he wondered to himself. Suddenly his train of thought was derailed by someone calling to him. Looking down, there was a little kid staring up at him. 

“Are you a real superhero?!” She called up, cupping her hands so her tiny voice could be heard.

Poweredd sat up, “Yeah! Watch this!” He stood up on the ledge, and dived. The little girl shrieked in fright. She covered her eyes in fright.

Just before hitting the ground, Poweredd stopped himself by hovering just over her head, “Look,” he chuckled with a giant smile on his face.

The girl peeked out from her hands, looking up at the hero flying over her. Her face lit up with pure joy, “COOL!” She bounced up and down, pigtails bobbing along with her body, “What else can you do?!”

Poweredd landed on the ground, “Well…” He scanned around, and found some cardboard boxes in the alley. Stacking them up, he looked back at the girl, “I got a little something I call the Power Punch. Here, watch this.” Radiant green light collected around his fists and eyes. Reeling back his arm, he punched the cardboard boxes, blasting the one he hit into pieces and sending the other boxes flying.

The little girl cheered, “THAT WAS AWESOME!” She was bouncing so much he was sure she was going to start flying herself, “You’re the coolest! Who are you?!”

Poweredd chuckled, “Name’s Poweredd. The best superhero around...in this city at least.”

The girl got his autograph from him before running off to meet with her friends, “Thank you mister Poweredd!”

Poweredd waved her goodbye, resting his hands on his hips and feeling much better about the situation. His brief moment of pride was cut off by the phone ringing, “Hello?”

The police chief was on the other end, “Poweredd, that you kid? Listen up, I just got a whole bunch of reports on that monster of yours. It’s finally showing itself.”

“Really?! Where?!” Poweredd questioned.

“Some little neighborhood on the outer part of the city. This first one said it was on Dubrary Lane.” The police chief replied. Something was shuffling around on his end.

Poweredd’s heart skipped a beat. That was the same street he lived on, “Dubrary Lane? Are you sure?”

The chief just grunted in reply, “You better get over there. I got reports saying it’s attacking a civilian. I think it said the guy was a uh...redhead.” The chief hung up on him.

“Oh god, Matt!” Poweredd shouted, barreling off toward home. A sinking feeling in his gut came out of nowhere, made by not only stress, but his powers reaching their limit. He used up so much just trying to find the monster that he didn’t let himself recharge, and showing off to that kid helped by no means.


	5. Like a Bull in a China shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes secrets just aren't worth keeping.

Matt happily flopped down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in hand. The TV had just finished playing commercials before cutting back to his show, “Oh good, I didn’t miss anything.” He sighed with relief. Ringo curled up next to him, reaching her paw up to get some popcorn, “No kitty, this is my popcorn!” Matt pushed her away. Ringo let out a little sad mewl, staring up at him with sad little eyes, “Oh alright, one piece. But no more than that! You’re not supposed to have people food.”

Not long after the show ended, Matt heard something coming from upstairs. He shot up, pausing the TV, and twisting himself toward where the sound came from. At first there was the sound of something falling, and a pause of silence. Matt strained his ears but heard nothing else. He turned back to the TV and brushed it off as nothing. Before he could even unpause it, there was something else. Someone talking loudly to themselves. The walls muffled out the words, but he could tell it was Tom.

“Tom?” Matt called up, “You okay buddy?”

Tom made no reply. He just kept talking to himself, his voice picking up into a panic before letting out a scream. Just hearing it made Matt’s blood curdle. In every adventure they had, Tom hardly ever screamed, or at least not with that much pain or fear in it. 

Matt cautiously got up with Ringo following close behind, fur fluffed up. Every instinct within him was pleading for him to run and hide. Despite that, he forced himself forward, swallowing the lump in his throat. Halfway up the stairs, Tom let out another scream. If Matt didn’t know any better, he would have thought Tom was being murdered. He shook the thought from his mind. No, it’s got to be an elaborate joke. He’s going to open Tom’s door and see it was just a silly prank.

Matt carefully reached out to the door knob. A chill ran up his spine when he finally heard what Tom was saying.

“C-calm down, calm down please,” Tom was pleading to himself in between sobs and screams, “Stop. Stop. STOP!”

Matt, against all good judgement, slowly opened the door and peeked through the crack. Tom was curled up on the floor. His clothes were ripped to shreds and his limbs looked like that of a large purple bear. A long tail curled itself around his body, and two horns poked out from his darkening hair.

“T-Tom?” Matt stuttered, about screaming himself when Tom’s head snapped up. Ringo hissed at him, back arched and claws drawn.

“RUN!” Tom roared at him, showing a set of fangs that were much too big for his mouth. His voice was deeper than before. To Matt it sounded like that of a demon. Tom’s “eyes” lit up like two lanterns with bright purple light.

Matt backed away in shock. Suddenly Tom fell silent, tail thrashing about in rage. A low growl escaped his mouth. On all fours, he stalked over to his friend, resembling more of a wild animal than a man. He pounced with claws bared, ready to carve into Matt. Ringo bounded out of the way and rushed downstairs to hide.

“OH SH-” Matt exclaimed, turning on his heel and jumping out of the way just before Tom could pin him down. Tom flew face first into the wall, leaving a huge hole in it from his horns, “I don’t want to be in charge anymore!” Matt cried as he raced downstairs. While Tom was still disoriented, he hid himself under the couch. He curled up in a defensive ball. Of all the things he thought were going to happen today, his friend turning into a monster was not one. Shaking like a leaf, he peeked out from under the couch, seeing big dark purple paws pace about in search. Matt shuddered, hoping Tom didn’t notice him.

Suddenly, the couch was tossed across the room. It flew through the window and out onto the lawn. Tom towered over Matt, baring sharp fangs and claws. He roared at him before pouncing like a tiger. Matt rolled out of the way just in time, causing Tom to slam into the coffee table and shatter the TV screen. Despite the pain, Tom rose up to his paws and chased Matt out the door. 

The whole way down the street, Matt screamed like a little baby for help. No matter how much he tried to run, Tom was right behind him, snapping and growling at his heels. At one point he could swear Tom’s fangs caught him, but the adrenaline rush made it hard to tell without slowing down. 

Matt wasn’t the only one running. Passerby were diving out of the way, screaming and shouting as they tried to escape the wrath of the beast. Cars swerved around Matt, some coming dangerously close to wrecking. Even with everything else around, the monster stayed focused on Matt.

“HELP!” Matt cried, foolishly looking back to see Tom still right behind him. When he turned back around, his foot caught the edge of the curb and sent him plummeting into the sidewalk. Tom pinned him down, one paw on Matt’s head, and the rest holding down his body. His tail thrashed about wildly as a smile grew on his face. The light in his eyes grew brighter. He snarled, leaning in to rip into Matt with his fangs, “Tom stop! You’re scratching up my face!” Matt pleaded. Tom ignored his friend’s pleas, tearing huge holes into Matt’s jacket. 

“He’s not food!” Poweredd shouted, swooping down like a guardian angel. He punched Tom off of Matt, sending the monster flying backward into the street, “Fear not citizen, I am here!” He reassured Matt with the most heroic voice he could muster up. Matt shakily stood up, eyes widening when he saw Tom get back up.

Tom, rightfully ticked off, roared, lunging at Poweredd with full intent to bite him. Poweredd jumped out of the way, pushing Matt along with him, “It’s not safe here! You need to go!”

“No, he’s my friend!” Matt protested, “...Wait a minute. Edd?!” he gasped, “I thought you said you lost your powers!”

“Uh, long story-” He dodged another attack from Tom, “What was that about this thing being your friend?”

“That’s Tom! I don’t know what happened, but he turned into that!” Matt explained.

Suddenly some things clicked for him, “...Oh my god, I’m a moron.”

Tom snapped at Poweredd, swinging his paws in an attempt to pin him down.

“Tom, what’s gotten into you?!” Poweredd cried, not really expecting a response. Tom growled, finally landing a scratch on Poweredd’s arm. That was the he noticed the glow in his eyes from the traffic cam video, “Oh god, you are being controlled, aren’t you?” He shuddered, clutching his wound. He refused to fight back. Despite Tom not being in his right mind, it was still Tom all the same, “Matt, get out of here! I can handle it!”

Matt refused, “He’s going to kill you!”

“Since when have I worried about stuff like that?” Edd answered back, blocking another one of Tom’s swings, “Just go! I’ll be fine!”

Shaking his head, Matt ran away, leaving Edd on his own to fight. Tom charged like a bull with his horns, coming dangerously close to actually hitting Edd. Edd flew out of the way, “Look, I didn’t want to do this but you leave me no choice!” 

Edd grabbed Tom by the tail and raised him up into the air, “Okay, you’re going to stay up here until you chill out!” Tom flailed himself around in the air, desperately trying to claw his way free. In the process he ripped up the end of his own tail. Suddenly, the light in Tom’s eyes flickered before growing more intense, “...That can’t be good.”

Tom steadily started growing taller. The dark purple fur took over his full body, and his two “eyes” fused into one large one. His face lengthened into a muzzle full of fangs. Edd couldn’t keep his grip on him, letting the tail slip out of his hands and land on the ground. Tom landed with a crunch. Thankfully, when Edd looked down, Tom was fine. The street under his paws not so much.

Tom roared at him in fury, smacking Poweredd out of the air. The impact sent Edd spiraling toward the ground, but he regained control before he could fall, “Tom, I’m sorry-” He shouted as green light manifested around his fists, “But you give me no choice!” He reeled back to punch, but the green light faded just as soon as it was there. He tried to get back up in the air, but he was stuck on the ground, “Of all the times for my powers to run out!” 

The monster charged at him like a bull. Poweredd quickly jumped out of the way, sending Tom flying into one of the houses. The people inside screamed and ran away in a panic. Luckily, the monster seemed to be only focused on him. 

Edd ran over to help the people he accidentally put into harm, but without his flight he was a slow moving target out in the open. The monster finally managed to snatch Poweredd up in his paws. Slowly, Tom pressed down on him, squeezing the air out of his lungs like toothpaste. The more he struggled, the more pressure Tom added. Broken asphalt jabbed at Poweredd’s skin, clawing parts of him open. 

“Tom...please…” Poweredd wheezed as his face started to turn blue, “You need… You need to fight it.” His vision started to blur, “This...isn’t you.” 

The monster let out a growl that almost sounded like a laugh. Tears were collecting at the edges of its eye. Tom couldn’t fight back against himself, so all he could do was just watch.

At some point Poweredd accepted it. This was how he was going out. He stilled under the weight. He heard someone calling his name as the world started to fade to black. Suddenly, he was freed. He took in a huge gasp of air as the blue drifted from his face. 

Standing over him was Matt. He was completely out of breath, clutching desperately to a bent golf club, “Friends don’t kill friends!” He shouted up at Tom, who was rearing back a paw, ready to snap him in half, “Edd, I got a plan! Distract him for me!”

Edd nodded, forcing himself up, and running under Tom to cling onto his tail. Tom roared, twisting around to pounce on Edd. Meanwhile, Matt ran around the same side as Edd. Just before Tom pounced, Edd dived out of the way, making Tom land face first on the asphalt.

“Nothing personal Tom!” Matt shouted, swinging the bat directly into Tom’s eye. With a his, the light flew out like a puff of smoke, leaving Tom to shrink down back to normal. 

He was covered in bruises and scrapes, most of which on his back from where he clawed up his tail. Every part of him felt sore. Both “eyes” were clenched shut as he let out a pained groan.

Poweredd, panting, turned to Matt, “That was f*cking brilliant! How did you know that would work?!” 

Matt brushed off his overcoat with a proud smile, “I did what any good hero would do. I guessed.” He kneeled down to prop up Tom’s head with his arms, “You uh...you good?”

Tom slowly peeled his eyes open, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “ I feel like I got hit by a train.” He groaned, “...Why are we in the street? And why is Edd in a Halloween costume?”

“Well…” Matt started, “You passed out from not sleeping, and when I checked on you- you went rabid and destroyed most of the neighborhood.” he rubbed the back of his neck.

Tom froze, “eyes” going wide, “I didn’t hurt anyone, did I?”

Matt chuckled, “How do I put this lightly… You tried to eat me and you were five seconds away from murdering Edd.” Tom flinched, trying to back away, “But we aren’t mad at you! Don’t worry!”

“Of course I’m going to worry!” Tom roared, “I lose control one time, and I go on a killing spree!”

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault. You weren’t the one attacking people, and no one’s dead, so calm down,” Poweredd reassured him, kneeling down next to him, “So uh, mind explaining?” he slipped his mask off and wiped the sweat away with his glove.

Tom glared down at his feet, dodging looking any of them in the eye, “I...I don’t know myself. All I know is that I turn into that when...when I’m not calm. Which is not great if you have no calm outside of being drunk,” he coughed, wincing at the pain in his chest, “But the alcohol stopped working and I kept transforming in my sleep… in hindsight not sleeping at all probably made things worse.” 

Suddenly Matt snatched him up in a hug, “That’s awful! You poor thing!”

“Matt!” Tom grumbled, hitting his arm, “You’re crushing me!” Matt refused to let go, so he sighed.

“What about that light in your eyes?” Edd asked, “I noticed that’s what made you go berserk.”

Tom shrugged, “No clue. Never noticed it before...then again I can’t remember anything from being a monster.” He coughed, chest aching from being battered up during the fight, “Well Edd, anything you want to share with the class?” He gestured with his hand to the costume.

Edd just nervously chuckled, “Well, I was hiding that I still had my powers, but your thing kinda makes that look silly now. I just...how do I put this without sounding like a jerk...I thought if I told you guys you wouldn’t be able to keep the secret and get us all in trouble.” 

Matt shrugged, “Yeah, that’s fair. Secrets have never been my strong point.” Tom agreed with a nod.

As if on cue, a caravan of police cars came down the street right to them. Poweredd stood up to greet them.

The chief pulled over on the sidewalk and hopped out, “What did we miss?” he chuckled.

Edd glanced back at his friends before replying, “Oh, well I defeated the monster! It’s gone now, gone for good.”

The chief cocked an eyebrow, “Where is it then?” he folded his arms, “You can’t expect me to believe it vanished into thin air.”

“Well you see about that-” Edd started, trying to come up with a good excuse on the fly.

Luckily his friends had his back. Matt came up to defend him, bringing along Tom still trapped in a hug, “That’s actually what happened, officer!” Matt piped up, “I got to see it! One second it was there, and then when Poweredd killed it, it went poof! Gone with the wind!”

Tom nodded along, “Yep, it was pretty cool.”

The chief, looking confused, just shrugged, “Well, I guess case closed then. Good job kid. Maybe we can work together again sometime,” Before he jumped back in the car he turned back to them, “Do you guys want a ride home?”

All three nodded, jumping in. Tom sat in the back with Matt and leaned against the window. He had a faint smile on his face as he watched the scenery go by. In hindsight it was stupid of him to think his friends would ever push him away. They kept Matt around, and he tried to kill them as both a vampire and a zombie. He promised himself two things. The first was that he was going to work more on keeping control, and the second was that he was going to take the world’s longest nap the minute he got home.

The chief dropped all three of them off at the door, thanked Edd one last time, and left.

“What do you guys say about taking it easy for the day so we can forget this whole thing h-” Edd started as he opened the door. He was cut off in shock upon seeing most of the house completely trashed and Ringo cowering under the stairs, “What in the-” He whipped around to face the others, “I thought I said don’t break anything?!”

In unison both replied, “It was the neighbors.”


End file.
